Search form

Duck Women off to a Solid Start at OSU/Shanico

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Kathy Cho matched the low round of her career with a 73 Monday to help the Oregon women's golf team tie for 11th after the first round of the OSU/Shanico Invitational, being played at the 6,072-yard, par-72 Trysting Tree Golf Course.

Cho, a senior from Honolulu, Hawaii, had a 38 on the front nine, and carded an impressive 35 on the more difficult back nine for her 1-over score. Cho notched her first round of 73 at last spring's NCAA West Regional that was also played at Trysting Tree

'Kathy played a very solid round,' said Oregon coach Shannon Rouillard. 'She stepped up and did the job she needed to do as a senior and as a leader.'

California took the first day lead by shooting a 286, followed by Arizona in second at 289, Stanford at 295, Brigham Young at 296 and Oregon State at 298. The Ducks had their lowest round of the season, a 309, and were tied with Idaho for 11th. Immediately in front of the Ducks were Nevada-Las Vegas and Northern Arizona at 307 and Long Beach State at 308.

'We are certainly in a position to catch some of the teams ahead of us,' said Rouillard. 'We still need to make sure we're putting and chipping well. I witnessed a few three-putts that we didn't need to have. But we're doing a better job of hitting greens in regulation, which was one of our focuses this week. So if we can eliminate some of the three-putts and do a better job of chipping, we should be in good shape.

Freshman Jonna Nealy carded the lowest round of her young Oregon career with a 4-over 76, and was tied for 24th. Freshman Jess Carlyon had a 6-over 78 to tie for 46th.

Stanford's Kim Kouwabunpat shot a blistering 5-under 67 and finished her round with a one-stroke lead on California's Ria Quiazon and a two-stroke lead on Brigham Young's Jessica Gardner in the medalist chase.

The rain mostly stayed clear of Trysting Tree Monday, as play was disrupted only once by a brief passing shower. A high pressure system is supposed to move into the region in time for the second round, scheduled to get underway at 8:30 Tuesday morning.